1-to-1 Teaching – Questions While Planning When every student in your classroom has a device, possibilities for learning greatly increase. Resources are distributed in that every child has at his/her fingertips a powerful learning assistant.
Following are some questions to consider as you plan:
Establishing classroom norms – behavior, handling, appropriate use –
How will you teach your students proper behavior and expectations?
If the goal is "students own the learning," therefore also the device, and the tools, how will they:
Be engaged, involved and buy in
Empowered for independence and self-sufficiency
How will students buy-in to and contribute to expectations and consequences
Some teachers involve students in setting rules, e.g., how and when will laptops be used - how will whole class instruction be respected, how will laptops be opened, shared, cared for, closed.
Some teachers rehearse coming into the room with laptops, setting up, moving about, shutting down
Classroom Management – Classroom Setup
How will you manage the flow of learning – from whole class to group work?
If students know and understand what to do most days in your class, this will eventually help flow
Some teachers have used laminated signs - green = laptops today; red= no laptops
Students before the class look for the sign
Will your room be set up to allow you to circulate while students are working on projects?
Will the chairs, tables and desks be configured differently?
Logistics (these may be addressed schoolwide)
What will happen when students have uncharged/inoperable tablets?
Schools usually establish these procedures together, with loaners, charging stations, etc. and then work to communicate uniformly the procedures to all students
Choosing and using classroom tools
What tools will you use and how (Google docs, Word, Keynote, Animoto, Wikis, Blogs, etc.)
What will students know, understand and be able to do with the tools?
How will the tools contribute to the learning goals?
Ensuring rigor in the activity/lesson/project
How will the activity or project maintain rigor and not be “about the technology?”
Some teachers involve students in the choosing, and supporting of the tools - and take a reflective approach, even changing the tools or technology if needed
Collaboration, Thinking, Self-Directed Work – Hallmarks of 21st Century Learning
How will collaboration occur amongst students and how will you monitor and guide effective collaboration?
How will higher order thinking be furthered by the project?
How will students be able to begin to direct their own work and results?
Some teachers take advantage of the ability of technology to create a record of activity, and use this as an additional way to ensure that collaboration is happening broadly. For instance, if students are to work in groups to create a Wiki, each using their own account, the teacher can go back and see who did what and when and adjust if one student is taking the lion's share of the work
Assessment
How will you assess the end result project or components of the project?
Self-assessment is also often used by teachers with students in 1-to-1 because the process is easier when the tools and work are in he students hands. Students might even work collaboratively with the teacher, marking up and adding comments to documents, presentations or other artifacts with the teacher so the artifact becomes a record of the learning, changes, and progress
How will you assess the student collaboration?
See comment in previous area about student work having a record
How will you assess the growth/learning from the project/activity/lesson?
Some teachers work with students to create ePortfolios of their work in Word or other applications and therefore encourage ownership of learning, a metacognitive approach, and a vehicle for returning to learning artifacts available to the teacher, student and possibly parent
When every student in your classroom has a device, possibilities for learning greatly increase. Resources are distributed in that every child has at his/her fingertips a powerful learning assistant.
Following are some questions to consider as you plan: